Rolling Stone's 10 Best Albums of 2016

This year has been a long one, a fact not lost even on the escapist music world. In the preface to its annual "best albums" list, Rolling Stone notes that "2016 was seemingly hardwired to self-destruct," complete with "explicitly political R&B molotovs" from Beyonce and Solange and a "poignant country plea from a Red State," courtesy of Drive-By Truckers. But it also cites a movement of "hip-hop that heals"—thanks, Chance the Rapper and A Tribe Called Quest—and moving goodbyes from David Bowie and Leonard Cohen (both of whom make the top 10), offering readers a variety of albums to either soothe or inspire. Here, the top 10 albums on the Rolling Stone roster:

1. Lemonade, Beyonce
2. Blackstar, David Bowie
3. Coloring Book, Chance the Rapper
4. Teens of Denial, Car Seat Headrest
5. Blonde, Frank Ocean
6. A Moon Shaped Pool, Radiohead
7. Blue & Lonesome, Rolling Stones
8. The Life of Pablo, Kanye West
9. You Want It Darker, Leonard Cohen
10. Jeffery, Young Thug

Check the full list of 2016's best at Rolling Stone. (The 100 greatest songs ever, at least by one gauge.)